Gerhard Szczesny

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Gerhard Szczesny, drawn by his son Stefan Szczesny

Gerhard Szczesny (born July 31, 1918 in Sallewen , East Prussia , † October 28, 2002 in Munich ) was a German philosopher, publicist and journalist.

Career

Szczesny studied philosophy, literary history and journalism in Königsberg , Berlin and Munich . In 1940 he was promoted to Dr. phil. PhD. From 1941 to 1945 he took part in the Second World War as a soldier ( Eastern Front ) . From 1947 to 1962 Szczesny was employed as an editor at Bayerischer Rundfunk . First he was head of the night studio, then of the special program.

During this time, Szczesny had contact with the Federation of Liberal Socialists . In particular, he wanted to make the statements by Rudolf Rocker from the publication "To consider the situation in Germany" available to the radio audience. With the pamphlet The Future of Unbelief. Contemporary considerations of a non-Christian (1958) he protested against the situation of non-Christians in a Christian-dominated society. In 1961, together with Fritz Bauer and Erwin Fischer, he founded the Humanist Union in Munich, which he chaired from 1961 to 1968. From 1962 to 1968 he headed the Gerhard Szczesny Verlag , which he founded , in which he published the magazine "Club Voltaire - Yearbook for Critical Enlightenment " in addition to numerous other publications ( Bertrand Russell , Why I am not a Christian ) . Authors such as Agnes Heller , Karl Steinbuch , Wolfgang Abendroth , Ernst Topitsch , Günter Grass , Hans Albert and Alexander Mitscherlich wrote in it . The publisher failed financially.

In the 1980s he left the SPD and the Humanist Union and moved closer to the Catholic Integrated Community .

The legacy of his professional, journalistic and socio-political activities is in the archive of the Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ) in Munich.

family

In his first marriage, Szczesny was married to Anna, b. Ozana - a son of Alexander -, second marriage to Martha, b. Meuffels - a son Stefan Szczesny and a daughter Claudia Szczesny-Friedmann - and in third marriage with Anemone, geb. Friedmann.

Works (selection)

  • Europe and the anarchy of the soul. Desch, Munich 1946.
  • The future of disbelief. Contemporary considerations of a non-Christian. List, Munich 1958.
  • (as ed.): The answer of religions to 31 questions. Szczesny, Munich 1964 and Bertelsmann Lesering 1965.
  • The Life of Galileo and the Case of Bertolt Brecht. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main 1966.
  • (Introduction to): Joachim Kahl : The misery of Christianity or plea for humanity without God. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1968.
  • The so-called good. From the inability of the ideologues. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1971.
  • The future of disbelief. Contemporary considerations of a non-Christian. With the extended correspondence between Friedrich Heer and Gerhard Szczesny. List, Munich 1972, ISBN 3-471-60387-5 .
  • Disciplining Democracy or The Fourth Level of Freedom. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1974, ISBN 3-498-06106-2 .
  • (as ed.): Marxism - taken seriously. A universal system put to the test by science. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1975, ISBN 3-499-16933-9 .
  • A Buddha for the West. Report on the appearance and work of Prince Lankavira as well as a recording of his conversations with the Venerable Suguta Thera. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1976, ISBN 3-498-06116-X .
  • May all Sorbs be happy. Diary of a seizure of power. List, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-471-77218-9 .
  • About the calamities of total democracy. Experience with progress. List, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-471-78623-6 .
  • Bertolt Brecht's “Life of Galileo”. Poetry and Reality. Bouvier, Bonn 1986, ISBN 3-416-01832-X .
  • When the past was present. CV of an East Prussian. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1991 (extended edition), ISBN 3-548-33153-X .
  • The one message and the many wrong turns. Notes on the history of the Buddhist search for knowledge and redemption. Königshausen and Neumann, Würzburg 2004, ISBN 3-8260-2707-8 .

literature

  • Rudolf Stählin: The Future of Unbelief? The book of a non-Christian - viewed from a Christian perspective. In: Welt und Wort 14 (1959), p. 69 f.
  • Wilhelm F. Kasch : Atheistic humanism and Christian existence in the present. Theological considerations for dealing with Gerhard Szczesny and the humanist union . Tubingen 1964.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Jürgen Degen: Anarchism in Germany 1945-1969 (The Federation of Liberal Socialists), Verlag Klemm Oelschläger Ulm 2002, p. 172 f.
  2. ↑ VERLAGE / SZCZESNY: So sad . In: Spiegel Online . tape July 27 , 1968 ( spiegel.de [accessed September 8, 2019]).
  3. ↑ constellations | KIG. Retrieved September 8, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Gerhard Szczesny estate in the archive of the Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ), signature ED 386. 1994, accessed on April 9, 2020 .

Web links

Wikiquote: Gerhard Szczesny  - Quotes
personal data
SURNAME Szczesny, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German philosopher, publicist and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Sallewen , East Prussia
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 2002
Place of death Munich